Estate planning sounds like something that only concerns the wealthy or the elderly. Neither is true. Anyone with assets — a bank account, a property, a life insurance policy, an investment portfolio — has something to pass on when they die. The question is not whether that will happen, but whether it will happen according to your wishes or according to what the law decides. The good news is that getting this in order is less costly and simpler than most people imagine. The bad news is that the vast majority keep putting it off indefinitely, leaving the state to decide on their behalf.
Why almost nobody plans their estate
Talking about one’s own death is uncomfortable. That is understandable. But that discomfort has a real cost: decisions that are not made end up being made by notaries, judges, and regional laws on your behalf — and not always in the way you would have preferred.
There is another, more mundane reason: the feeling that “there will be time for that later.” Estate planning only feels urgent when someone close to you dies and you witness the administrative chaos that can result from not having done it. Until then, it stays on the list of things that are important but not urgent.
The result is that more than 60% of Spaniards die without a will, according to data from the notarial colleges. This does not mean their assets disappear: it means they are distributed according to intestate succession rules — an automatic mechanism that may produce results very different from what the deceased would have chosen.
There is a third reason worth naming: the belief that making a will is expensive or complicated. An open notarial will in Spain costs, in 2026, between 40 and 70 euros in fixed notarial fees. It requires one appointment and a few documents. It is one of the cheapest and most straightforward legal procedures that exists.
What happens when you die without a will
When someone dies without having made a will, intestate succession applies. The Civil Code establishes a priority order among potential heirs: first descendants, then ascendants, then the spouse, and if none of the above are present, collateral relatives — siblings, nephews and nieces — and, as a last resort, the state.
This order sounds reasonable in most cases. The problems arise in situations that do not fit the most common household model:
Unmarried couples. Under the general intestate rules of the Civil Code, a common-law partner is not recognised as an heir. Rules vary by region — Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Navarre have their own legislation — but across much of Spain, if you die without a will and without being married, your partner may be entirely excluded from the inheritance even if you have been sharing a life and assets for years.
Stepchildren. Adopted children have exactly the same rights as biological children. But stepchildren — the biological children of a spouse who have not been formally adopted — have no succession rights over a stepparent who raised them.
Unequal distribution among children. Without a will, children inherit in equal shares. If your children have very different needs, or if you want to favour one of them for legitimate reasons, the law gives you no flexibility.
The declaration of heirs procedure. When there is no will, a notarial declaration of heirs must be carried out, requiring the gathering of documentation, waiting time, and additional cost. If no heirs from the first groups exist or disputes arise, the process can stretch over months.
Intestate succession is not chaos — but it is inflexible. It does not account for the particular circumstances of each family.
How a will works in Spain
A will is a legal document in which you express your wishes about how your assets should be distributed after your death. The most common type in Spain is the open notarial will: you go to a notary, explain what you want, and the notary drafts and authenticates it.
The process is as follows. You book an appointment at any notary’s office — it does not need to be in your municipality of residence. You bring your national ID and, if you have specific assets you want to mention, their basic details. The notary explains your options, drafts the will according to your wishes, and you sign it. The notary retains the original and registers it in the General Register of Acts of Last Will, so that your heirs can consult it when the time comes.
There are legal limits the will cannot override. In Spain, the concept of the legítima exists: a portion of the estate that the law mandatorily reserves for certain forced heirs. Under the general Civil Code regime, two thirds of the estate carry restrictions: one third is the strict legítima, which must go to children in equal shares, and another third — the mejora — can be distributed among descendants as you choose. Only the final third can be freely left to anyone — a friend, an association, an unmarried partner.
Other will types exist: the holographic will — written entirely by hand without a notary, but more vulnerable to challenge — and the closed will, which is less commonly used. For most situations, the open notarial will is the safest and most practical option.
One thing a will does not do: avoid inheritance tax. That tax exists regardless of whether a will is in place, although proper planning can minimise it in some cases. The amount varies considerably by region: Madrid and Andalusia have very significant reductions; others do not.
Beyond the will: insurance and beneficiaries
A will covers the assets that form part of your estate, but some assets are transferred through a different mechanism: beneficiary designation.
Life insurance policies are the clearest example. When you take out a life insurance policy, you designate a beneficiary — the person who will receive the insured capital in the event of your death. That capital does not pass through the estate: it goes directly to the beneficiary, regardless of what the will says. For this reason, it is worth reviewing periodically who you have designated as beneficiary, especially after a divorce, a new relationship, or the birth of a child.
Pension plans work similarly. In the event of the account holder’s death before retirement, the accumulated balance passes to the beneficiaries explicitly designated by the holder, or to their legal heirs if no explicit designation has been made. Reviewing that designation periodically matters just as much as reviewing the life insurance beneficiary.
Joint bank accounts also deserve attention. A joint holder has access to the funds from day one, whereas heirs need to go through the inheritance acceptance process. This can be an advantage or a problem, depending on whom you share the account with.
In investment portfolios or funds, the standard inheritance process applies: heirs must accept and process the estate. There is no direct beneficiary designation as there is with insurance.
When and how to review your plan
A will is not a document you make once and forget. There are life events that justify reviewing or updating it:
The birth of a child changes your family situation and may change what you want to stipulate. A divorce makes it necessary to review both the will and the beneficiaries on insurance policies and pension plans. The purchase of a significant property or the accumulation of a substantial investment portfolio are also reasonable moments to check whether what you have documented still reflects your current wishes.
The death of someone you had named as heir or executor requires updating the will to avoid ambiguities.
Reviewing your will does not have to be costly or complicated. In most cases, you simply make a new will, which automatically revokes the previous one. The cost is the same as the first time.
A useful accompanying practice is to prepare an informal document — for your heirs, not before a notary — explaining where your accounts, insurance policies, and investment products are held, along with any necessary access details. This inventory has no legal standing but can save your loved ones weeks of administrative work at a difficult time.
Few financial decisions have such a significant impact for so little effort. Getting basic estate planning in order takes an afternoon and costs less than a meal out. Leaving it undone may cost far more to those you leave behind.
